Uwais Report Crying for Attention

The recurring failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct free and fair elections has heightened the demand for implementing the recommendations of the Electoral Reform Panel, led by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammad Uwais. But will the government of the day listen?” Wale Igbintade asks

Since 1999, elections in Nigeria have consistently failed the test of fairness and credibility. The last February 25 and March 19 elections were not different as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed despite the massive deployment of technology and adequate funding. Both local and international election observers who monitored the polls scored INEC and its officials low.

Similarly, the off-cycle elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states were not different as INEC officials condoned irregularities as manifested in several people who were caught with pre-filled result sheets before the elections started. The commission allegedly uploaded fictitious figures into IReV, including in areas where there were no elections due to insecurity.

Before the polls, stakeholders had described the process as another litmus test for the commission in view of the controversies that trailed the conduct of the 2023 general election. They had expected it to learn from the last general election and regain the confidence of Nigerians by organising free, fair, transparent and credible polls. 

Following the criticisms and condemnations that followed the off-cycle elections, pro-democracy activists, and civil society organisations have intensified their calls on the federal government to implement the Uwais Report if Nigeria is to experience transparent and credible elections.

In response to the questions around the legitimacy of the 2007 general election, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who was declared the winner of the poll, had set up a committee on Election Reform led by former Chief Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais.

The committee, famously called the Uwais Electoral Reform Panel, was composed of highly rated and erudite intellectuals and best brains from academia, civil society organisations, professional groups and the public service.  As a result of the thoroughness and comprehensiveness of the committee’s report, Yar’Adua’s administration accepted over 90 per cent of its recommendations and took immediate steps to implement some of them.

The 23-member Electoral Reform Panel was charged with the mandate to critically examine the entire Nigerian electoral process and formulate reforms needed to holistically address the deep-seated challenges plaguing the electoral system.

The committee, in the course of the assignment, received and analysed a total of 1,466 memoranda from the general public, with expert contributions taken from Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Côte D’Ivoire, France, Ghana, India, Lesotho, Mexico, Niger Republic and South Africa.

It also held public hearings in two capital cities in each of the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) during which a total of 907 presentations were made, just as it interacted with former Heads of State and consulted other stakeholders including state governments, political parties, INEC, State Independent Electoral Commissions, security agencies, civil society groups, women organisations and the media.

At the end of its sitting, the committee in its report, actually covered the field, recommending precise measures that would improve the electoral process and environment; strengthen the legal frameworks and enhance the independence of the electoral body. The committee also made recommendations to improve the performance of various institutions and stakeholders in the electoral process. These include the legislature, judiciary, executive, political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations, media and Nigerian citizens.

In its evaluation of the Nigerian electoral predicaments, the committee noted that the country’s experience with democratic elections since independence has been rather mixed. It argued that “although the country has managed to transit from one administration to another, no election conducted in the country has been completely free of perceived irregularities, electoral malpractices, violence and various degrees of disruptions.

 The factors responsible for this state of affairs include, among others, the character of the Nigerian State as the arena for electoral contests; the existence of weak democratic institutions and processes; negative political culture; weak legal/constitutional framework; and lack of independence and capacity of the Election Management Bodies.”

Specifically, it recommended among others: Constitutional amendments that would insulate INEC from the political influences of the executive arm of government in terms of its composition and funding; the power to appoint INEC board was to be transferred from the president to the National Judicial Council (NJC) while its funding was to be a first line charge on the Consolidated Revenue of the Federation; the functions of the police on election duty stated in the PSC guidelines on code of conduct for officers should be incorporated into the Police Act; Special Electoral Offences Commission was to be set up to try electoral offenders; that no elected person should assume office until the case against him/her in the Tribunal or Court is disposed of; the amendment of the Constitution for the appointment of a single date for presidential and gubernatorial elections which should be held at least six months before the expiration of the term of the current holders of the offices. Similarly, an amendment of the Constitution to appoint a single date for National and State Assembly elections which should be held two years after the presidential and gubernatorial elections; the number of tribunals should be increased by reducing the number of judges that sit on a tribunal from five to three, so that more tribunals can be established per state.

But despite these huge efforts made 16 years ago, successive governments have failed to implement the report submitted by the committee, while the many plagues of the Nigerian electoral system continue unabated, to the detriment of the country’s 23-year-old democratic reign.

Aside from the refusal to cede the power of appointment of the INEC board, the Yar’Adua administration accepted most of the fundamental recommendations and was to begin implementation when the president took ill and eventually did not return to office. His successor, former President Goodluck Jonathan implemented the policy aspects and forwarded the entire report unedited to the National Assembly for consideration of areas requiring legal reforms and constitution amendments. Investigations have shown that at the centre of the rejection is the issue of power to appoint the INEC chairman and other state officials.  

But despite several calls over the years, observers say that successive governments in the country have failed to implement the report submitted by the Uwais committee perhaps on the belief that, if implemented, it will cut off most of the overbearing powers the president wields on the other arms of government.

But before Jonathan resubmitted the report, the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution had rejected the recommendation to transfer this power to the judiciary. The deputy chief whip of the Senate, Mohammed Mana, then argued that letting the judiciary appoint the INEC chairman violated the principle of separation of powers since the judiciary was responsible for hearing the cases arising from elections.

But observers have been quick to dismiss this position, arguing that the refusal of the government to implement the report is simply indicative of the age-long desperation of the Nigerian political class to perpetuate themselves in power and exert so much political influence on the system and the people for political exploitation and self-aggrandisement.

The new administration of President Bola Tinubu still has about three and a half years to spend in office and whether it will make a bold move to implement the Uwais report ahead of the 2027 general election, unlike its predecessor, is another question whose answer obviously lies in the belly of time.

Despite the clamour for the implementation of the report, President Tinubu recently appointed some INEC Commissioners. Some of those appointed are said to be card-carrying members of the APC. In spite of the outcry that the action is against the 1999 Constitution, the president did not deem it necessary to withdraw their names.

To many, these are early signs that the ruling party is already strategising for 2027. This is why they are wondering with the penchant, proclivity and propensity of the average Nigerian politician to circumvent the law and anything good, if the Uwais Panel Report, seen as a game changer, will not be circumvented. It was not surprising that the political class circumvented the Electoral Act 2022 which was commended by many pro-democracy groups when it was signed by Muhammadu Buhari.